North Texas man given life sentence for dismembering girlfriend, dissolving body in chemicals

A North Texas man will spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend. Authorities say he also dismembered her body, then dissolved the remains in chemicals.

Kevin Wayne Powell, 50, was given an automatic sentence of life without parole after being found guilty of capital murder of Kasey Rae Nutter.

According to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, beginning in 2015, Nutter made several claims of abuse against Powell, and witnesses said he was paranoid that she was talking to police behind his back.

Nutter, who last spoke to someone on Dec. 12, 2015, feared that Powell may try to retaliate against her.

Police began searching for Nutter after her grandmother reported her missing in early 2016.

One of Powell’s relatives then came forward to police and told them that Powell had said he had “taken care of” Nutter by killing her.

After killing Nutter, Powell told his relative that he used multiple power saws to dismember her body, before putting the pieces into chemicals to dispose of them.

Following the murder, Powell, who was a contractor, repainted his bedroom and made attempts to cover portions of the room with furniture. He also pawned his power saws after Nutter was reported missing.

When police searched Powell’s home, they found Nutter’s DNA on the floors and baseboards that Powell had tried to cover.

Investigators continued to search for Nutter for three years, while the case was pending, but never found any evidence that she was alive.